The subject matter disclosed herein relates generally to medical imaging systems, and more particularly to calibration of radiation detection systems.
In nuclear medicine (NM) imaging, such as single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) or positron emission tomography (PET) imaging, radiopharmaceuticals are administered internally to a patient. Detectors (e.g., gamma cameras), typically installed on a gantry, capture the radiation emitted by the radiopharmaceuticals and this information is used, by a computer, to form images. The NM images primarily show physiological function of, for example, the patient or a portion of the patient being imaged. Detectors, however, may be subject to inhomogeneity issues, in that the energy detected for a given event (e.g., photon impact) may vary with location of impact. Such variation in detected energy causes degradation, for example, in energy resolution and gain stability. Further still, for example, inhomogeneity issues may affect sensitivity of different portions of individual pixels.